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Sam Darnold: "The Biggest Thing For Us Is Consistency" · Seahawks Press Pass

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Happy Thursday.
• 0:03
  Speaker 2: Um, yeah, just, uh, you know, obviously had a few
• 0:07
  Speaker 2: days to kind of look at ourselves, look at the
• 0:09
  Speaker 2: chiefs and, um, you know, really happy with where we're at.
• 0:12
  Speaker 2: You know, obviously there's some things you got to get
• 0:13
  Speaker 2: better at and, um, we've addressed those things. And, um,
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  Speaker 2: I think the biggest thing for us is just consistency,
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  Speaker 2: you know, consistency day in and day out. Um, but
• 0:21
  Speaker 2: like I said, with these guys coming in here, um,
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  Speaker 2: great defense, you know, really good players, really good scheme. So, um,
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  Speaker 2: you know, got to prepare really well and, you know,
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  Speaker 2: do everything that we can to all be on the
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  Speaker 2: same page and go out there so we can play
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  Speaker 2: decisively on Sunday. You said you're really happy with where
• 0:42
  Speaker 2: you're at.
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  Speaker 1: What gives you the optimism?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, I think, you know, there's a lot of good
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  Speaker 2: things that we're doing on tape. You know, obviously sometimes
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  Speaker 2: it doesn't show it, you know, in the scoreboard or
• 0:54
  Speaker 2: sometimes how it feels on the field. But we're doing
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  Speaker 2: a lot of good things. Obviously, we just need to
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  Speaker 2: create a little more consistency in how we're doing it.
• 1:01
  Speaker 2: And that's just sustaining drives, right? It's like, you know,
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  Speaker 2: having six or, you know, six, seven, eight plays that
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  Speaker 2: we're like stringing together and then not being able to
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  Speaker 2: really convert a third down on that, you know, eighth
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  Speaker 2: play or what have you. So just sustaining drives and
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  Speaker 2: just continuing to play one play after the other.
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  Speaker 3: What specifics did you learn from assessing and looking at yourself?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, I think kind of like I just said, just consistency.
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  Speaker 2: Understanding what our strengths are, what our weaknesses are, and
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  Speaker 2: obviously not going to share too much, but just being
• 1:39
  Speaker 2: able to find a little more consistency.
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  Speaker 4: Sam, you talked about decisiveness, and this last game, more
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  Speaker 4: than half your passes were less than two and a
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  Speaker 4: half seconds before you threw it, but you also got
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  Speaker 4: hit more than you ever had in under two and
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  Speaker 4: a half seconds. How much do you just focus on
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  Speaker 4: what you got to do, and how much do you
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  Speaker 4: try to, like, you know, work across the team and
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  Speaker 4: figure out how you and each other can help each
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  Speaker 4: other get to where you want to go?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, I think for me, like, continuing to play decisive.
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  Speaker 2: And when something's not there, you know, on the couple
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  Speaker 2: picks that I threw, just– you know, when that time
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  Speaker 2: clock starts to go off and, you know, just being
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  Speaker 2: careful with the football. And sometimes that's throwing the ball away,
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  Speaker 2: and other times that's knowing, you know, just when I'm
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  Speaker 2: kind of under pressure and even maybe even taking a
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  Speaker 2: sack in those situations. So I think just understanding, you know,
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  Speaker 2: or not understanding, but being aware of the situation and,
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  Speaker 2: you know, not making a bad play worse is kind of,
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  Speaker 2: the goal moving forward. But I'm just going to continue
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  Speaker 2: to play decisive and try to get the ball out.
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  Speaker 3: Everything you've had to battle through in your career, how
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  Speaker 3: does that help prepare you to persevere through these moments,
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  Speaker 3: those couple tough teams.
• 2:52
  Speaker 1: Coming in, things like that?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, you know, everything that happens in your
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  Speaker 2: life prepares you for the next moment. But I think
• 3:00
  Speaker 2: that's the beauty of it is, you know, it prepares
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  Speaker 2: you for the next moment. But I think staying in
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  Speaker 2: the moment is sometimes the hardest thing to do. So
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  Speaker 2: I think that's the biggest thing, not only for myself,
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  Speaker 2: but our entire team and our coaching staff is, just
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  Speaker 2: being exactly where our feet are and understanding that we've
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  Speaker 2: got to have a great Thursday today and just attacking
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  Speaker 2: the day one play at a time.
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  Speaker 4: When you say that, having such a close working relationship
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  Speaker 4: with Brian Fleury, how have you seen him continue to
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  Speaker 4: adapt and solve problems as he's gone through his first
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  Speaker 4: six games as coordinator?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, he's been great that way. Just being able to
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  Speaker 2: listen to the players, listening to the coaches, and adapting
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  Speaker 2: and You know, there's, like I said, there's some things
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  Speaker 2: that we're doing well, some things that we aren't doing well,
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  Speaker 2: and just moving forward with that. What do you see
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  Speaker 2: as the hallmark of the Chiefs' defense? You know, I think, obviously,
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  Speaker 2: I stand up here every week, and I feel like
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  Speaker 2: I say, you know, their scheme's really good, and they
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  Speaker 2: play really well in that scheme, and they play fast,
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  Speaker 2: but I think that last part is the most impressive
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  Speaker 2: part to me, is they play really fast, and, you know,
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  Speaker 2: I think a lot of times, like, they attack offenses.
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  Speaker 2: and they don't allow the offense to attack them. And
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  Speaker 2: I think that's a hallmark of a great defense. So
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  Speaker 2: we're going to be ready and have a great plan.
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  Speaker 4: Every backseat quarterback pauses a snap after the ball's hiked,
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  Speaker 4: and they're like, well, there's a guy open here. Why
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  Speaker 4: don't you go there? How much does pure progression force
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  Speaker 4: you into certain looks first, and how much freedom do
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  Speaker 4: you have to say, actually, I think this guy's going
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  Speaker 4: to be open first?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, I think, you know, I think playing every play
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  Speaker 2: as its own is super important. And, you know, as
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  Speaker 2: the season goes on, continuing to have a feel of
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  Speaker 2: kind of how defenses are playing us, what our tendencies are.
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  Speaker 2: And I think that was a huge, huge point of
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  Speaker 2: emphasis kind of these last few days was looking at
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  Speaker 2: our tendencies and what defenses are realizing and how they're
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  Speaker 2: playing us. So, you know, I think at the end
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  Speaker 2: of the day, like I just got to trust my progressions,
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  Speaker 2: trust my feet, trust my eyes and, you know, just
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  Speaker 2: continue to play decisive football.
• 5:00
  Speaker 1: Sam, I asked you a couple.
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  Speaker 3: Weeks ago, but Zach Charbonnet is just eight months removed
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  Speaker 3: from ACL surgery.
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  Speaker 4: How impressed are you that he's back out here now
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  Speaker 4: on the 53-man roster? And then what makes him so reliable,
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  Speaker 4: especially inside the five-yard line?
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  Speaker 3: He had 12 rushing touchdowns last year.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, you know, Zach, he's a great player. You know,
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  Speaker 2: and I think what makes him such a great player
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  Speaker 2: is just his mindset, you know, and how he attacks
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  Speaker 2: every single day. And we saw him, you know, throughout
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  Speaker 2: his recovery process in the weight room and getting his
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  Speaker 2: knee right and, you know, doing all the little things
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  Speaker 2: that he could to get better. And he attacks a
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  Speaker 2: game plan the same way. So no surprise that he's,
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  Speaker 2: you know, getting ready to go so fast after the ACL. So, yeah,
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  Speaker 2: leave it there.
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  Speaker 4: So across the league, teams are moving to more under
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  Speaker 4: center offense and defenses seem to be blitzing more. The
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  Speaker 4: blitz rates on those are up and play action is suffering.
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  Speaker 4: You know, it takes a little longer. Are you noticing
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  Speaker 4: that on offense? Is that one of the things that
• 6:01
  Speaker 4: you guys are trying to figure out?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, I think, you know, that's another thing about, you know,
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  Speaker 2: kind of going into the self-scout, you know, how defenses
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  Speaker 2: want to play us and what's been working for defenses.
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  Speaker 2: So that all goes into that. And, yeah, but it's a,
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  Speaker 2: you know, everyone says it's a copycat league, you know,
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  Speaker 2: but it's really like people just watch the tape and
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  Speaker 2: they say, okay, what's working, what's not, just around the
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  Speaker 2: league in general. when you start to see things that work,
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  Speaker 2: tends to show up a little bit more. So, you know,
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  Speaker 2: just got to be aware of certain looks when I
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  Speaker 2: am under center and being able to get our offense
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  Speaker 2: in the right play.
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  Speaker 3: Sam, Mike's got his way of doing things as a
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  Speaker 3: defensive mind.
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  Speaker 4: Brian Flores likes to blitz the hell out of everybody.
• 6:44
  Speaker 1: What's Spagnuolo, what are the hallmarks of a defense of his?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, I think just the variety. You know, it seems like,
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  Speaker 2: you know, to an offense or to someone just watching,
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  Speaker 2: it might seem like they do a lot. But you
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  Speaker 2: can tell that within their scheme, I feel like they
• 7:01
  Speaker 2: keep it really simple and they allow their defense to
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  Speaker 2: play fast. But it looks like they're doing a lot
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  Speaker 2: of things out there. And so I think that's a
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  Speaker 2: really good sign of a really good coordinator, especially a
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  Speaker 2: defensive coordinator.
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  Speaker 3: Sam, obviously it's not all on you to set pass protection,
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  Speaker 3: but how do you feel about the way that you
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  Speaker 3: guys are handling that, especially with a lot of teams
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  Speaker 3: seeming like they are bringing more pressure? How do you
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  Speaker 3: feel like where you guys are at as a unit
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  Speaker 3: in terms of, especially with a new offense, that might
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  Speaker 3: be something people don't look at very much with a
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  Speaker 3: new offense, is just the nuances that come with trying
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  Speaker 3: to pick up blitzes and having those responsibilities. How do
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  Speaker 3: you feel like where you guys are at as a
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  Speaker 3: unit there right now?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, I feel like You know, sometimes we're struggling, and
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  Speaker 2: sometimes when we're doing good, I think, like I said
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  Speaker 2: in the beginning, you just got to find that consistency.
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  Speaker 2: And that comes with continuing to rep things, you know,
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  Speaker 2: having practices, like coming out here on Monday for a
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  Speaker 2: practice and being able to rep things against our defense
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  Speaker 2: and with, you know, all the certain pressures and, you know,
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  Speaker 2: all-up looks and bailing, all those things. Like, I think
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  Speaker 2: those are great reps to not only get mentally but
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  Speaker 2: physically as well for all of our guys to be
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  Speaker 2: able to communicate in those situations. It's just continuing to
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  Speaker 2: get reps and getting better at it and finding consistency.
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  Speaker 3: There's a few times in the game where we saw
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  Speaker 3: Drew ran out of the field to help you out
• 8:21
  Speaker 3: with the play call.
• 8:21
  Speaker 1: Was that a noise thing or was that a headset thing?
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  Speaker 2: No, it was a little bit of a combination of both.
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  Speaker 2: I feel like even just watching games, sometimes when I'm
• 8:30
  Speaker 2: at home, whether it's a Monday night or Thursday night,
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  Speaker 2: just headset stuff kind of happening around the league. I
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  Speaker 2: think just continuing to to iron that out, you know,
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  Speaker 2: and I think as the season goes on, it's going
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  Speaker 2: to continue to get better, but I think the biggest
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  Speaker 2: thing is just having a plan for when it does happen.
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  Speaker 4: When, like, at what point with a new, you know,
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  Speaker 4: head coach, a new coordinator, I should say, play caller,
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  Speaker 4: do you as a quarterback trust, like, what are the
• 9:00
  Speaker 4: things that have to happen for you to just trust
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  Speaker 4: what is coming from your play caller?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, I'm always trusting Fleury. I mean, you know, he's
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  Speaker 2: a very smart dude that's seen a lot of football,
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  Speaker 2: and you know, he puts in, our whole coaching staff
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  Speaker 2: really put it, they put in so many hours and
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  Speaker 2: they work so hard that, you know, I trust everything
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  Speaker 2: that every single play that calls, you know, he calls and,
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  Speaker 2: you know, as an offense, we just got to go
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  Speaker 2: out there and execute and do our job.
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  Speaker 4: Is it important to see the plans that they present
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  Speaker 4: actually unfold the way, you know, you thought they were
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  Speaker 4: a few times for that to kind of build that
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  Speaker 4: trust further?
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  Speaker 2: No doubt. And I think, you know, even Fleury meeting
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  Speaker 2: with us on Saturday nights as an offense, he kind
• 9:42
  Speaker 2: of goes through the way that he sees the game unfolding.
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  Speaker 2: And a lot of times he's been right about those things.
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  Speaker 2: And so I think that as a player, that continues
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  Speaker 2: to allow us to have confidence in what he's calling.
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  Speaker 2: But we've seen it through OTAs and training camp, just
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  Speaker 2: how smart he is and knowing that he'll get us
• 10:05
  Speaker 2: in the right situation.
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  Speaker 1: He mentioned last week after the San Francisco game, you
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  Speaker 1: approached him about wanting to kind of– I think what
• 10:13
  Speaker 1: he said was– sort of hone in on the plays
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  Speaker 1: you guys are really doing well, and plays you've had
• 10:18
  Speaker 1: confidence in running and things like that. Was that something
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  Speaker 1: you felt like needed to be done at that time,
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  Speaker 1: or was it kind of because of the short week
• 10:23
  Speaker 1: before the Denver game?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, I think that's always something that, you know, right,
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  Speaker 2: because as an offense, you're always finding your identity, you know,
• 10:30
  Speaker 2: as the season goes on, and so I think for us,
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  Speaker 2: it's just, you know, understanding, like, what we're good at,
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  Speaker 2: what we're not good at, but a lot of times,
• 10:36
  Speaker 2: it kind of depends on the defensive scheme and kind
• 10:39
  Speaker 2: of the front structure that they give us, some of
• 10:41
  Speaker 2: the pressures that they give us on first and second downs,
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  Speaker 2: so It all really depends on kind of what we're seeing. But, yeah,
• 10:50
  Speaker 2: I think Fleury just in general has been really good
• 10:53
  Speaker 2: about meeting with not only players but coaches and getting
• 10:56
  Speaker 2: everybody on the same page.
• 10:58
  Speaker 3: Thanks, guys.